Holders for cartridge fuse protectors for electric circuits

ABSTRACT

A SCREWLESS TERMINAL FUSEHOLDER FOR ATTACHING WIRE LEADS WITHOUT SOLDERING OR OTHER CONNECTORS. THE FUSEHOLDER COMPRISES A HOLLOW ELONGATED CASING OF NON-CONDUCTIVE MATERIAL. A CONTACT PLATE FORMED WITH RESILIENT CLINCHING TONGUES FOR CLINCHING WIRE LEADS IS MOUNTED IN ONE END OF THE CASING. THE CONTACT PLATE HAS AN OPENING THROUGH WHICH EXTENDS A FERRULE FOR REMOVABLY HOLDING ONE END CONTACT CAP OF A CYLINDRICAL FUSE. ANOTHER CONTACT PLATE, LIKEWISE PROVIDED WITH RESILIENT CLINCHING TONGUES FOR CLINCHING WIRE LEADS IS MOUNTED IN THE OTHER END OF THE CASING. THIS OTHER CONTACT PLATE IS PROVIDED WITH AN INTEGRAL SEMI-CYLINDRICAL CONTACT EXTENSION FOR RECEIVING THE OTHER END CAP OF THE FUSE. A COIL SPRING IN THE EXTENSION HOLDS THE FUSE IN FIRM ENGAGEMENT WITH THE FERRULE AND THE CONTACT EXTENSION.

Jan. 12, 1971 c BOQNE 3,555,481

HOLDERS FOR CARTRIDGE FUSE PROTECTORS FOR ELECTRIC CIRCUITS Filed May 23, 1969 illHlllHlHl. j 50 66 70 "w BY 9 4444 W ATTORNEY INVENTOR. CHRISTOPHER B.' BOONE United States Patent us. Cl. 337 1s7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A screwless terminal fuseholder for attaching wire leads without soldering or other connectors. The fuseholder comprises a hollow elongated casing of non-conductive material. A contact plate formed with resilient clinching tongues for clinching wire leads is mounted in one end of the casing. The contact plate has an opening through which extends a ferrule for removably holding one end contact cap of a cylindrical fuse. Another contact plate, likewise provided with resilient clinching tongues for clinching wire leads is mounted in the'other end of the casing. This other contact plate is provided with an integral semi-cylindrical contact extension for receiving the other end cap of the fuse, A coil spring in the extension holds the fuse in firm engagement with the ferrule and the contact extension.

In making electrical connectionsto protectors for electric circuits, special equipment such as soldering irons, crimping tools and the like are employed to secure the wire endsto the terminals of the protectors. These known methods are time-consuming and uneconomical.

The object of my invention .is to effect a substantial saving in time and expense involved in making these electrical connections, while at the same time making these secure and reliable. To accomplish these objects, I provide an enclosed screwlcss terminal fuseholder, wherein the leads or wires may be attached to the contacts or terminals without soldering or other connectors such as crimp-on or screw-on connectors. The leads or wires are held permanently and securely to the terminals or contacts, Without the danger of separation or loosening, thus avoiding an interruption of the flow of current through a corresponding circuit. The connections of the wires or leads to the terminals or contacts may be quickly and efficiently made without the use of special equipment, such as soldering irons, crimping tools, etc. The screwless terminal fuseholder comprisesan'assemblable casing for receiving the fuse cartridge, said casing consisting of a pair of identical mating halves and of simple means for securely holding said halves together. I provide means for mounting said fuseholder in standard fluorescent fixtures, various electrical, electronic equipment and the like. The device of the character described can be assembled with a minimum of previous instruction. It is simple in design, of sturdy construction and may be manufactured at a reasonable cost.

The screwless terminal fuseholder comprises a casing of non-conductive material, said casing including integral consecutively disposed hollow, intermediate, elongated and enlarged part retaining portions, a first stud receiver contact plate in said hollow portion, at least one pair of resilient clinching tongues, means in said hollow portion transverse to the plane of the stud-receiver contact plate and in alignment with said clinching tongues, for the insertion of a wire end into clamping engagement in said first contact stud receiver plate, said first contact stud receiver plate having a central aperture therein to allow the insertion of a fuse cartridge, a second stud receiver 3,555,481 Patented Jan. 12, 1971 contact plate in said enlarged part retaining portion, said second plate being provided with a pair of clinching tongues for securing another wire end, means in said elongated portion in contact engagement with said second stud receiver plate, said first stud receiver plate being provided with means for securing one end of a cartridge fuse in contact engagement with said means and another end of said cartridge fuse in contact engagement with said first stud receiver contact plate.

Another embodiment of my invention is adapted for use with open fuseholder mounting devices, in automotive, industrial and household applications.

These objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of part of the fuseholder shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a stud receiver clip used in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 illustrates a stud receiver plate used in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG, 5 is a front elevation of one side of a fuse-receiving ferrule used in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the ferrule shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a top plane view of the ferrule shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of another type of ferrule used in the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a cross-section taken on line 99 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 illustrates another embodiment of the invention and FIG. 11 is a detail of the embodiment shown in FIG. 10.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, the fuseholder shown in FIG, 1 comprises a pair of identical mating insulating members generally indicated by the numerals 12, 12' which are held in firm engagement by means of a split clinch ring 14. For the sake of simplicity, the construction of the fuseholder will be described in its assembled state. When thus assembled, the fuseholder presents a hollow portion 16, an intermediate reduced portion 18, an elongated part and a terminal retaining section 22, which also serves as a wire guard.

The inner faces 24 of the members 12, 12 are formed with an inwardly extending angular flange 26 and a recess 28 merging with a groove 30 for holding a stud re ceiver clip '32, preferably of spring brass. The stud receiver clip is formed with two pairs of resilient clinching tongues 34, 34' and 35, 35 which are adopted to grasp the bare wire ends 36, 36, so that they are firmly secured to the clip 32. The clip is further provided with an opening 38 conforming to the shape of the receiving ferrule 40 and its projections 42, 42'.

The peripheral edge portion of the stud receiving clip 32 is engageable with the projections 42, 42' of the receiving ferrule 40. The receiving ferrule 40 is rigidly mounted by a press-fit in knob 46 of a cartridge fuse assembly and receives a fuse 48, the cap 50 of which is insertable in the receiving ferrule 40.

For use with a 1" fuse, a ferrule shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is provided with an inwardly extending dimple 52 for securing the cap 50 of fuse 48 and a detent 54 to prevent the fuse from being inserted further into the receivin g ferrule 40.

For use with a 1%" fuse, the receiving ferrule 40, of the same diameter and depth as the receiver ferrule 40 is provided with only an inwardly extending dimple 52' adjacent the bottom portion of said receiving ferrule. The

intermediate portion 18 of the fuseholder has narrow passages 56 for passing bare wire stud ends 36, 36'. The intermediate part 18 is further provided with a cavity 58 to provide clearance for the receiving ferrule 40 or 40' and projections 42, 42 thereof. The cavity 58 communicates with one end of the elongated portion of the fuseholder in order to permit the fuse 48 to be inserted in the elongated portion 20.

Arranged in the terminal retaining section 22 is a stud receiving member 60. The stud receiving member 60 is formed with clinching tongues 62 for grasping the Wire 64. A semi-cylindrical trough-like extension 66 of member 60 receives the cap 50 of the fuse 48, the trough 66 thus electrically contacting the bare wire stud end 64 with cap 50. The stud receiving member 60 is received in a groove 68 of the fuseholder assembly. A spring 70, disposed in the extension 66 biases the fuse '68 against longitudinal displacement in the fuseholder. A spring tab 66' in the trough-like extension holds the spring in place.

The manner of assembling the components of the fuseholder is as follows:

The stud receiver clip 32 and the stud receiving member 60 are inserted in the respective grooves and 68 of both of the identical halves 12, 12, with the peripheral edges of the stud receiving clip 32 engaging with the projections 42, 42' of the ferrule 40 or ferrule 40', depending on whether a 1 or 1%" fuse is used. When using a 1" fuse, such as indicated by the numeral '48, the cap 50 is inserted in the ferrule 40 as far as it will go until it is stopped by detent 54, while dimple 52 engages frictionally with the cap 50 and serves to hold the cap 50 firmly in the ferrule 40. When a receiver ferrule 40 is used for a 1% fuse the fuse cap, such as 50, is pushed all the way into the receiver ferrule 40' so that dimple 52, which is disposed adjacent the bottom of the receiver ferrule 40' similarly engages with the fuse cap and holds it firmly on the cap. It will be apparent that the fuse may be extracted from either of the receiver ferrules by an application of slight force, thus making it possible to replace a burned out fuse, without discarding the cap 46, This construction results in a saving of cost, since heretofore the entire cap and fuse assembly had to be replaced when a fuse burned out. The coil spring 70 is next inserted in the trough-like extension 66 to hold the fuse firmly in the fuseholder. It should be noted that the spring 70 need not be made of a well-conductive material but may be made of steel, etc., since the actual contact between the bare wire stud 64 and the fuse cap 50' is made through the extension 66 engaging with said fuse cap.

Connections to the fuseholder are made as follows: The stripped end 64 of a wire is forced through the opening between the resilient tongues 62 of the stud receiving member 60 while the insulated portion 72 is inserted in the passages 74 of the fuseholder. Due to the resiliency of the tongues 62, these grasp the stripped end 64 of the wire, thus assuring a firm contact between the wire end 64 and the stud receiving member 60. In a similar manner the stripped end 36 is forced through the openings 34, 34', of the stud receiving clip 32. Should a parallel connection be required, a stripped end of another wire 36' may be similarly secured between the tongues 35, Both halves of the fuseholder 20 are then mated and a split compression ring 14 is slipped over these halves to hold them together.

In another embodiment of the inventive concept, a fuse block generally indicated as 76 is provided with a pair of fuse-receiving clips such as 78 having resilient tongues such as 80 identical to tongues 32. The manner of securing the stripped wire ends,such as 82 is similar to that described in the previous embodiment. A 1 /4 fuse or a 1 fuse may be used with this fuse block. However, when a l fuse is used, there are provided shims, such as 84, at both ends of the fuse block to keep the 1" fuse from longitudinal displacement. The fuse block is formed with a pair of legs 86, 86 and a central annular leg 88 for receiving a securing screw 90. The fuse block 76 is provided on one side wall with a pair of very shallow beads 92, one of which is shown in exaggerated size in FIG. 11. A plurality of blocks may thus be electronically welded together by means of this bead.

What is claimed is:

1. A screwless terminal fuseholder comprising a casing of non-conductive material, said casing including integral consecutively disposed hollow, intermediate, elongated and retaining portions, a first wire end receiving contact plate in said hollow portion, formed with at least one pair of resilient clinching tongues for securing a wire end, said firstcontact plate having a central aperture therein, a knob of non-conductive material detachably mounted in said hollow portion, a ferrule formed with a cylindrical wall rigidly secured in said knob, said ferrule having a closed end portion and an "Open end portion extending through said central aperture, a second wire end receiving plate mounted in said retaining portion, said second wire end receiving plate having at least a pair of clinching tongues for securing another wire end, and formed with a semi-cylindrical extension, a fuse provided with a pair of contact caps on each end thereof, respectively, one of said caps being removably inserted in said ferrule, the other of said caps being removably inserted in said semicylindrical extension and in contact engagement therewith, a spring received in said semi-cylindrical extension intermediate said second wire end receiving plate and the other of said caps, for biasing said fuse in said ferrule.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein said ferrule is formed in its cylindrical wall with an inwardly extending dimple adjacent said ferrules open end portion for frictionally engaging said one cap'of the fuse and with an inwardly extending detent intermediate said dimple and the ferrules closed portion for limiting the depth of insertion of said one cap into said ferrule.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein said ferrule is formed in its cylindrical wall with an inwardly extending dimple adjacent the ferrules closed portion for frictionally engaging said one cap of said fuse.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein said cylin drical wall receiving ferrule is formed with a pair of oppositely disposed projections extending laterally out lwardly of said cylindrical wall.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein said second wire end receiving plate is formed with a spring holding tab.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,022,480 2/1962 Tiffany 339-258 (A) 3,132,224 5/1964 Bulgin 337-242 3,319,030 5/ 1967 Russenber'ger 337-'242 3,320,385 5/1967 Sherwood 337-l87 3,383,648 5/1968 Toms 339258(A) HAROLD BROOME, Primary Examiner 

